Atlas GP9s

brakie

Active Member
How can I tell if my 4 Atlas N Scale GP9s are DCC ready? I have had these units since 2003 and I am really hoping to use DN163A2 plug N' play.
 

diburning

Member
take the shell off and see if it has a circuit board of some sort. If it does. check to see if it has wires connected to the motor, trucks, etc. If it does, then theres probably also a plug for a dcc decoder.
 

MasonJar

It's not rocket surgery
Hi Larry,

Unfortunately, DCC ready has a number of meanings depending on the manufacturer.

If you are looking for DCC ready = plug 'n' play, then the post above is a good check, i.e. there should be a place to plug in a decoder, or the entire exisiting circuit board should come out and be replaced with a decoder.

Sometimes DCC ready just means that the motor is isolated from the frame, and you need to hard wire in your chosen decoder.

DCC ready can also depend on the decoder you have chosen. E.g. if there's a plug, but you want to use a decoder that does not come with a plug, you'll have to do some work.

Based on your selection of the DN-163A2 (Digitrax, although not listed on their site that I could find), it would seem to be a plug 'n' play decoder that replaces whatever lighting circuit board that is currently in the engine. So most likely, you take the shell of, pull the circuit board, and plug in the decoder.

Andrew
 
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